


Assumptions

by Kendrickhier



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Coming Out, Crack, F/F, confused alien Astra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-07 03:23:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14071854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kendrickhier/pseuds/Kendrickhier
Summary: Winn comes out, Astra is a confused alien with outdated word definitions, and Alex is Shook.





	Assumptions

**Author's Note:**

> Written within 2 hours, it’s just crack and having fun, so there may be more mistakes than I’d like there to be. Why write for GDM when you can write spur-of-the-moment crack, right? When I started this I was just hoping it wouldn’t be a 200 word ficlet, instead we got almost 2k, oops?

“Hey, guys? I’ve got something to tell you,” Winn announces, his voice a little shaky. He’s standing at the briefing table in the center of the room, drawing the attention of everyone in the near vicinity. It doesn’t appear like he knows what to do with himself now that he has the attention however, seeming more nervous than Alex has ever seen him.

J’onn is standing at the side of the table, giving him a supportive nod. It doesn’t seem to do much, but it does make Alex aware that Winn probably asked him if this was a thing he could do. Him being a psychic, he’d probably long been aware of whatever he’s about to say.

Alex has a pretty good idea of what that announcement is gonna be. It doesn’t require the ability to read minds to figure it out, nor does it require her expertise in body language. It probably helps, though.

As he’s preparing himself to actually make his announcement, Astra grows impatient, prompting him to continue with a, “Well?”

Everyone’s eyes are glued to Winn. He takes one last deep breath. “I’m gay.”

Silence.

Well, for a few seconds. Seconds that probably feel like an eternity to Winn.

Scratch that, she _knows_ it feels like an eternity to Winn, knows what that small eternity feels like after you’ve told the people you care about that you’re not straight. The situation with Maggie may have been almost two years ago, but that is not something she’ll forget quite that easily.

It’s a second too long, Winn’s discomfort piquing and triggering his rambling. “I-I mean, I just figured you guys should know, you know? Working that closely with each other and all. We all know these things about each other, right? And it’s not like we don’t hang out after work. I figured while there’s nothing to do I might as well say it now, I just kinda keep putting this off, as you do,” he laughs awkwardly, his hands moving along his mini rant. “So... yeah... If someone would like to say something, anything, now would be the moment.”

He’s starting to turn towards Alex, helplessly looking at her, knowing she understands this struggle. She doesn’t get a chance, though.

“That’s great, Winn.” Astra’s voice cuts in, and Alex swears she can hear the smile that’s on her face—a smile she only sees once her head whips around to her as she approaches Winn. It’s more radiant than she’s ever seen on Astra, filling up the room in a way she thought only Kara was capable of. She ignores the pang in her chest that’s caused by the fact that she’s throwing this smile at Winn of all people, that jealousy she’s gotten familiar with ever since Astra’s return.

Astra, as it turns out, is great at making a fake death appear realistic. She hasn’t stopped apologizing to Kara for her having to see that, or to Alex for making her believe she’d killed her. She hadn’t missed that guilt hiding in Alex’s eyes, which she’d tried so hard to hide. That physical affection Astra had a tendency for didn’t lessen, at least not when it came to Alex or Kara. Towards Kara made sense of course, being her aunt and all, but displaying a similar affection towards her?

Alex assumed it was just part of her personality, the whole touchy-feely thing. Who else would stroke an enemy hostage’s cheek?

Similarly, Alex assumed Astra was straight, and painfully so. She doesn’t know how close she’d been to her husband, isn’t entirely sure what constitutes as intimacy in Kryptonian standards altogether for she’s never been willing to ask Kara that question; scientific curiosity only takes her so far, and asking her sister about sexual things in relation to her species? That’s too far, she does not need to know that. Besides, Jeremiah already had the biological notes on reproduction, there really wasn’t any need for her to ask.

She’s certainly not about to ask Astra about her and Non’s sex life either. That opens up a whole other can of worms, which will accompany feelings of both jealousy _and_ disgust. Not to mention complete humiliation.

Point is: Astra is straight, and Alex will just have to keep that particular crush (is it really still a crush when it persists over a year?) to herself, for she doesn’t make a smidgen of a chance.

Case in point: the ridiculously bright smile she is throwing a man. A man who just came out as gay, no less.

So what came out of Astra’s mouth next was just about the last thing she expected her to say. “I’m gay, too,” she says, so utterly delighted, and Alex blinks rapidly several times. The words register, but they are having trouble processing in her brain.

Winn looks quite stunned himself, but he lights up quickly enough, replacing most of his discomfort. J’onn looks at her curiously, while most others either nod to themselves and go back to work, or look just about as shaken up as Alex feels.

Astra is gay.

And suddenly Alex feels so stupid for misreading all the signals, the physical affection and the constant attempts of spending time with her, always lamely excused as it being something for Kara’s sake, which Alex knows is a lie, but she hadn’t dared read further into it. Or rather, she hadn’t wanted to question the former general due to her completely useless crush, just taking whatever bone was tossed her way.

Or so she’d assumed.

It all makes sense now, especially the way she’d look at Alex, like she’s the only person in the universe that matters, the only person worth looking at, the only person worth interacting with. Which, again, she’d written off as an Astra thing, with her condescension towards humans and Alex being the seemingly sole exception to that ever-persistent rule. While some of the other agents are growing on the Kryptonian, she’d never pass up an opportunity to criticize any of them, or comment on how primitive and barbaric this whole operation is.

But yet, she stays.

She stays while throwing looks at Alex, and it’s not too farfetched to think that maybe Astra is doing all of this for her, to get in her good graces, to be on the battlefield with her, side by side rather than opposing. Or well, her and Kara both. Hopelessly head over heels or not, she can still acknowledge part of this is bound to be for Kara.

The only thing she finds herself wondering is which part is bigger, if any.

But then, once again, Astra flips any assumptions right back on their heads. “I wasn’t aware it was custom to acknowledge one’s happiness in front of others and declare it so clearly. What has made you this gay, Winn?”

Alex isn’t sure whether to laugh or cry, especially when adding Winn’s deer-in-headlights expression. Kara steps in soon enough to mend the situation, and giving Alex a few more moments to process the intense amount of feelings and thoughts that have just crossed her mind; so if Astra isn’t gay, were all of those things that just clicked just reading into things too deeply?

“Aunt Astra, no! That’s not what he meant.”

Astra tilts her head in that confused puppy kind of way, not looking away from Winn. “I’ve read your literature. Doesn’t gay mean happy?”

“Well, yes...” Kara frowns to herself, pausing. “But that’s the nonstandard meaning, nobody uses that anymore. It means homosexual, usually—please tell me you at least know what homosexual means.”

Eyebrows raise, and her head straightens back up, briefly turning to Kara, “Oh! Thank you for clearing that up, little one. That could have gotten... embarrassing.”

Kara stifles a laugh, but nods, then gives Astra space to amend her statement now that she knows the proper meaning. All of them wholly expect her to backtrack—or well, Alex does. Alex most decidedly expects—dreads the upcoming backtracking of Astra claiming she is gay, going right back to confirming she is straight. She of course knows there are more sexualities than just those two, but she’s not so sure Astra is aware of that fact.

Another thing she never asked about when it came to Krypton’s social standards: was sexuality a thing at all when partners are arranged the great majority of the time?

Either way, she’s bracing herself for the confirmation of never having a chance with the woman she loves—likes. No... No, loves would be accurate at this point, she can definitely say she loves Astra.

She turns back to Winn, that smile returning, though more gentle and subtle this time around. “If acceptance is what you are looking for, you have it. I’d still like to ask what brought this on, however. Did you find a suitable partner?”

“Uhh—“ Winn is steadily growing more red around his ears and on his cheeks. “I, well, maybe?” He looks away for a moment. More specifically, he is looking down at his pocket, where his hand is gripping his phone. There’s a hint of a smile when he looks back at Astra. “It’s nothing serious! Not yet anyway, but I figured, if I want to do this, I need to make sure my friends are good with this. Not that I doubted any of you would!”

He throws a look at Alex, but she’s too mentally occupied to really take offense, even mockingly. She’s just waiting for Astra to continue, to get back to her statement of being gay, to revoke it, to—

“It’s alright, Winn, we understand.” Astra doesn’t touch him, doesn’t give him that comforting touch she’d undoubtedly give Alex if she were in that situation, but instead turns around. “As for me being gay, well...” She throws a look at Alex, such softness in her eyes, and Alex’s heart leaps into her throat. “That’s still just about accurate.”

For a moment, Astra is all she can see, or sense at all. For a moment, nothing exists in this room beyond the two of them, beyond those green eyes gazing at her, beyond those strong lines that accentuate her cheekbones, beyond that dual white streak standing out in brown locks. For a moment, Alex forgets, and she licks her lips, allows herself to feel that wanting, allows it to reflect in her eyes.

But then that moment is over, and she becomes increasingly aware of the fact that all those eyes are now aimed at her, burning with intrigue. With somewhat of a huff, Alex looks away and instead looks around the room, throwing up her hands exasperatedly. “Why are all of you looking at me like I’m the one who’s gonna come out next? I already did! We all know I’m a lesbian! Move on!”

There’s a few snickers, but it gets them to get back to work. Astra, however, is still looking at her, now almost challengingly. Alex quirks an eyebrow in turn, slight smirk pulling at her lips, and Astra breaks out into a grin, gesturing for her to follow as she walks out of the room to what Alex can only presume is going to be the most private place she can find in this building.

She throws a glance at J’onn, who has been eyeing their silent interaction wearily, and he immediately nods his acknowledgment. “Go,” he says simply.

This time Alex rightly assumes that there will be a stack of paperwork from HR waiting for the two of them when they return.

She also rightly assumes that she and Astra will be gay together in every sense of the word, for a long time coming.


End file.
